The Express Times Individual wrestling rankings as of Jan. 25

FROM THE EXPRESS TIMES


Individual wrestling rankings
Brett MarinoBrett Marino
103 Name Record School Class
1 Darian Cruz 21-2 Beth. Catholic So.
2 Brett Marino 26-2 Liberty Sr.
3 Cody Barbiche 20-0 Delaware Valley Sr.
4 Matt Williams 22-5 Pen Argyl So.
5 Kyle Baker 16-7 Easton Fr.

Honorable mention: Fr. Pat Antonacci (13-1) Central Catholic, So. Bryan Israel (24-2) Saucon Valley, Fr. Ethan Lizak (18-8) Parkland, So. Matt Moncourtois (14-4) North Hunterdon, Fr. Dylan Nace (15-3) Hunterdon Central, Fr. Matt Richie (11-6) North Warren, Jr. Brandon Sommer (14-9) Northampton.

Notes: No movement in the top 5 this week in this impressive class. Baker went 2-3 at the Final Four but all three were quality losses (Williams, Council Rock South's Billy Rappo and Collins Hill (Ga.)'s Sean Russell) so he holds on at No. 5, though Israel and Nace are pushing. Cruz and Marino likely will meet Wednesday in what will be a terrific lightweight festival when Becahi visits Liberty; that meeting could settle 1-2 for a long while.

Ryan NicotraRyan Nicotra
112 Name Record School Class
1 Zeke Moisey 22-5 Beth. Catholic Fr.
2 Anthony Cabrera 25-2 Liberty Sr.
3 Ryan Nicotra 18-2 Hackettstown Sr.
4 Chase Zemenak 14-10 Nazareth Fr.
5 Peter Stanley 16-9 Easton Jr.

Honorable mention: So. Anthony Dee (12-6) Salisbury, Fr. Gary Dilmore (13-1) Hunterdon Central, So. Ian Evans (16-13) Parkland, Fr. Josh Evans (17-3) Palmerton, So. Zach Fisher (15-10) Phillipsburg, So. Matt Gilmore (15-3) Delaware Valley, Sr. Josh Giordano (10-8) North Hunterdon; Fr. Christian Okulicz (14-7) Voorhees, Fr. Justin Pidoto (13-6) Warren Hills, Sr. Jamie Welsh (18-5) Pen Argyl.

Notes: Problems here. Stanley defeated Welsh in OT at the Final Four. I saw that one and that tying stalling call ... well, let's just say it was debatable. Still, a win is a win. But then what to do with Zemenak, who beat Stanley and has almost nothing but good losses? And all three lost to Walsh's Cory Stainbrook. Grr. The unsatisfactory result is above and we hope for clarification soon. Cabrera desperately wants a rematch with Moisey, and he'll likely get it Wednesday in what should be a gem of a bout.

Evan DisoraEvan Disora
119 Name Record School Class
1 Randy Cruz 24-5 Beth. Catholic Jr.
2 Mike Pongracz 20-1 Delaware Valley So.
3 Josh Ortman 20-7 Parkland Fr.
4 DeMarquis Holley 18-3 Dieruff Jr.
5 Evan Disora 16-4 Easton So.

Honorable mention: Sr. Lucas Dice (17-5) Northern Lehigh, So. Grimaldi Gonzales (19-6) Liberty, So. Andrew Kaluzny (14-10) Phillipsburg, So. Tyler Kozimor (9-4) Hackettstown, So. Dillon Massington (18-5) Palmerton, So. Mike Rodgers (14-6) Central Catholic, So. George Schaffer (11-4) Bangor, So. Jesse Thorsen (14-6) Belvidere.

Notes: Pongracz enjoyed a huge week, drilling Somerville's Nick Wahba, a defending District 18 champ, 9-0 and the 2011 Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex winner Matt Benvenuto of Lenape Valley 11-1. Only Cruz's pedigree and strength of schedule keeps him — narrowly — ahead of the surging Terrier. Ortman pinned Holley, who had pinned DiSora so that works out nicely for 3-4-5. Kozimor-Pongracz on Thursday could be a tasty one. Gonzales should give Cruz a go Wednesday.

Jaydon Rice headshotJaydon Rice
125 Name Record School Class
1 Dylan Thorsen 17-1 Belvidere Jr.
2 Jaydon Rice 19-7 Beth. Catholic Sr.
3 Franco Ferraina 13-2 Nazareth Sr.
4 Devon Lotito 25-4 Liberty Jr.
5 Zane Heller 18-4 N. Lehigh
Sr.

Honorable mention: Sr. Nick Barzano (13-3) North Warren, Sr. Pat Boyle (12-6) North Hunterdon, Jr. Joseph Dalessandro (15-5) Pius X, Sr. Chris Davis (15-5) Voorhees, Sr. Mike Fake (15-4) Parkland, Jr. Ethan Keitchel (15-8) Northwestern, Jr. Sam Oberlander (17-5) Palmerton, So. Grady Orr (11-8) Hunterdon Central, So. Robbie Rizzolino (18-7) Easton.

Notes: No change here in the top 5, but this class is hardly set in stone. Lotito could upset the apple cart if he faces and tops Rice on Wednesday. Davis, who could see Thorsen on Thursday, enjoyed an unbeaten week. Oberlander pinned Keitchel. Barzano could state his case against Thorsen on Friday. I have a hunch changes are coming here.
Calvin Daly headshotCalvin Daly
130 Name Record School Class
1 Zach Horan 26-0 Nazareth Sr.
2 Calvin Daly 18-6 Easton Sr.
3 Matt Lane 17-6 Phillipsburg Sr.
4 Matt Ortiz 15-4 Northwestern So.
5 Rich Cruz 13-8 Beth. Catholic Jr.

Honorable mention: Sr. Matt Boylan (12-8) Hunterdon Central, Sr. Mike Crawn (15-4) Bangor, Sr. Kevin Guenther (16-5) Delaware Valley, Jr. Javier Rivas (14-6) Dieruff, So. Mason Ryzoff (13-3) North Warren, Fr. Jesse Snyder (14-5) Palisades, Sr. Forest Touchberry (16-9) Parkland, Jr. Keith Wanamaker (13-6) Warren Hills.

Notes: As if there were the slightest doubt Horan was No. 1 here, his defeat of Walsh Jesuit's two-time Ohio state champ Johnni DiJulius leaves not a scintilla of doubt. Behind him, anybody who makes a move could get in top 5, but Guenther's loss to Phillipsburg's unranked Justin Lane keeps him out; Touchberry teched Rivas but doesn't deserve, yet, to oust Cruz at No. 5. Lane and Daly may well meet Thursday.

Derek ZehnbauerDerek Zehnbauer
135 Name Record School Class
1 Mike Racciato 22-2 Pen Argyl So.
2 Jason Stephen 22-6 Northampton Jr.
3 Greg Noll 20-7 Nazareth Sr.
4 Vince Pellechia 24-1 Catasauqua Jr.
5 Derek Zehnbauer 17-4 Delaware Valley Jr.

Honorable mention:Sr. George Dalessandro (16-7) Pius X; Sr. Damien Hopper (10-1) Central Catholic, So. Mike Marano (16-12) Parkland, Jr. Jose Morales (12-7) Dieruff, Jr. Aaron Morekin (19-4) Whitehall, Sr. Rob Napolitano (14-6) Hackettstown, Jr. Tom Scerbo (12-5) Hunterdon Central, Sr. Paul Schwartz (15-9) Freedom.

Notes: Hopper has some dandy wins and his only loss is to Horan; he's close to the top 5, but Zehnbauer, who covered himself in glory with a clutch 5-4 win over Phillipsburg's Rylan Watson up at 140, surely has earned his spot. Pellechia's chance to move up comes, perhaps, against Racciato on Wednesday. Racciato went 5-0 at the Final Four on Saturday.

Zack WilsonZack Wilson
140 Name Record School Class
1 Joey Rizzolino 25-3 Easton Sr.
2 Zack Wilson 15-7 Northampton Sr.
3 Ryan Todora 20-6 Beth. Catholic So.
4 Luciano Burriesci 24-7 Pen Argyl Sr.
5 Nikko Stevens 16-5 No. Lehigh Sr.

Honorable mention: Sr. Colby Barrett (12-4) Pius X, Jr. Cody Grohotolski (13-6) Palmerton, Jr. Ronnie Honickel (18-1) Voorhees, So. Eric Matz (17-4) Catasauqua, Sr. Eric Seals (14-8) Allen, Sr. Rylan Watson (16-8) Phillipsburg.

Notes: Burriesci avenged an earlier loss to Stevens and on both current form and overall body of work jumps Watson as well to No. 4. Stevens' win over Watson, plus an up-and-down week for the Stateliner, makes the top 5 all-Pennsylvania for now. Rizzolino was very, very impressive at the Final Four. Wilson edged Todora 4-3 in a dual to cement his claim to No. 2.

Chris CancelliereChris Cancelliere
145 Name Record School Class
1 Mitch Minotti 23-2 Easton Jr.
2 Chris Cancelliere 16-1 North Hunterdon Jr.
3 John Lynch 19-4 Saucon Valley Sr.
4 Justin Heller 16-7 Parkland Sr.
5 Cole Sheptock 16-5 Northampton Jr.

Honorable mention: So. Tyler Cote (11-4) Hunterdon Central, So. Ty Herzog (18-4) Northern Lehigh, Jr. Victor Embardino (13-4) Notre Dame, Sr. Matt Gotzon (10-3) Southern Lehigh, So. Connor Hedash (13-6) Northern Lehigh, Sr. Kyle Kilpatrick (16-7) Wilson.

Notes: Not many No. 1s could lose twice in one day and stay on top, but Minotti, despite being pinned by High Point's Joe Gaccione and edged 3-1 by Council Rock South's Matt Martoccio at the Final Four, is clearly still the best here; remember, he beat Cancelliere 14-5. Heller had a good Final Four and just doesn't stop. Gotzon drops here from 152 and beat Embardino and Kilpatrick to jump back into the honorable mentions. Hedash comes down as well.

Dan BrockerhoffDan Brockerhoff
152 Name Record School Class
1 Kyle DeHaut 15-6 Beth. Catholic Sr.
2 Beau Vrancken 15-1 North Hunterdon Jr.
3 Bobby Clymer 22-4 Northwestern Sr.
4 Dan Brockerhoff 16-7 Phillipsburg Sr.
5 John Lambert 17-4 Northampton Sr.

Honorable mention: Sr. Matt Bonshak (18-4) Whitehall, So. Travis Buddock (11-4) Saucon Valley, Sr. Chris Carey (16-3) Hunterdon Central, Jr. Billy Christiansen (18-3) Wilson, Sr. Josh LaBar (21-3) Pius X, 5. Sr. Rex Lutz (20-5) Pen Argyl, Sr. Anthony Minotti (16-7) Easton, Jr. Mike Staufenberger (13-4) North Warren, So. Josh Young (16-4) Freedom.

Notes: Time to clean house here a bit. DeHaut can't really be penalized for going up to 160 and losing to Northampton's Tim Kunkel, but, still, that was not the best of losses. His pedigree keeps him at No. 1 here, but he's on watch. Minotti's pin at the hands of Lutz, who hasn't lost since December, erases the pin of Vrancken, to me, and allows the Lion to move up a notch. Lutz may well wind up at 145 but since he was at 152 for the Final Four he'll stay here for now, and he can't crack the top 5 because of losses to Clymer and Brockerhoff. Clymer comes in No. 3 with a win over Brockerhoff. To say this class is unsettled is an understatement.

Mason McIntyreMason McIntyre
160 Name Record School Class
1 Mike Ottinger 19-1 Parkland Sr.
2 Elliot Riddick 22-6 Beth. Catholic Sr.
3 Ryan Krecker 14-1 Nazareth Sr.
4 Mason McIntyre 13-1 Easton Sr.
5 Jadaen Bernstein 19-0 Voorhees So.

Honorable mention: Jr. Jon Blank (17-2) Notre Dame, Jr. Nathan Dow (14-4) Belvidere, Jr. V.J. Delmonico (16-9) Phillipsburg, So. Dave Fenton (14-7) Hunterdon Central, Sr. Luke Gotzon (16-3) Southern Lehigh, Sr. Tim Kunkel (13-7) Northampton, Jr. Nick Maddalena (11-2) Delaware Valley, Jr. Justin Marsh (17-2) Palisades, Sr. Jason Rothman (16-3) Hackettstown, Sr. Kyle Sorensen (18-7) Northwestern Lehigh, Jr. Richard York (13-5) Saucon Valley.

Notes: Might be the best class of all here. McIntyre thumped everybody he saw at the Final Four in physically dominant fashion but can't move up. Some of the honorable mentions, such as Marsh, may be at 152 next week. Kunkel posted a nice win over Kyle DeHaut of Becahi and could be one to watch.

Tyler HornTyler Horn
171 Name Record School Class
1 Colin Hedash 19-2 No. Lehigh Sr.
2 Tyler Horn 23-4 Pen Argyl Sr.
3 Jake Maffucci 13-2 Hunterdon Central Sr.
4 Ray O'Donnell 24-4 Saucon Valley So.
5 Will Van Doren 18-5 Delaware Valley Jr.

Honorable mention: Sr. Zack Bambary (9-6) Easton, So. Evan Bray (10-7) Belvidere, Jr. Levi Veppert (21-5) Northwestern, Jr. Eric Wolak (9-4) Nazareth.

Notes: Hedash has been up at 189 or 215 since December (which is why he missed Horn in the dual meet last week), but it's hard not imagine this thin class would not be his ultimate postseason destination. Horn looked sharp at the Final Four. Wolak won a toughie against Walsh Jesuit's Anthony Melchiorre giving up 20 pounds and is threatening to crack top 5. Veppert's been on a roll to crack the rankings.

Brandon SteeleBrandon Steele
189 Name Record School Class
1 Ian Gimbar 24-2 Saucon Valley Sr.
2 Jovon Reyes 17-3 Dieruff Fr.
3 Brandon Steele 16-9 Liberty Sr.
4 Ben Bradley 13-5 Nazareth Sr.
5 Dylan Evans 17-6 Pen Argyl Jr.

Honorable mention: Sr. Zach Bohn (17-3) Voorhees, Sr. Cory Bruder (17-5) Parkland, Jr. Luke Garner (19-1) Catasauqua, Fr. Fuad Haddad (14-7) Whitehall, So. Evan Kauffman (11-4) Freedom, Jr. Marcus Newsom (13-6) Northampton, Jr. Anthony Pare (9-6) Phillipsburg, Sr. Kyle VanWingerden (9-6) Belvidere.

Notes: Many changes here. Steele pinned Bradley, which is worthy of moving on up, and Evans went up to 215 and beat Easton's Tyler Greene, which was vastly impressive. Bruder was out of Parkland's lineup last weekend so we'll shift him down to honorable mention to make room for the newbies. No room for Bohn or Garner, who may both deserve better. A very, very fluid situation leaving aside Gimbar at the top, who is not going anywhere.

Tyler GreeneTyler Greene
215 Name Record School Class
1 Brandon Hull 20-4 Phillipsburg Jr.
2 Tarik Haddad 12-3 Parkland Sr.
3 Nick Sharga 23-4 Northampton Jr.
4 Tyler Greene 23-5 Easton So.
5 Kyle Nerger 13-4 North Hunterdon Sr.

Honorable mention:Jr. Ryan Barry (18-7) Pen Argyl, Sr. Brian Guevara (14-2) Voorhees, Sr. Fred Jennings (18-4) Hackettstown, So. J.B. Lawson (10-7) Belvidere, Sr. Derek Knoop (13-7) Hunterdon Central, Jr. Kane Kralik (16-4) Palmerton, Jr. Dan Smith (14-4) Warren Hills, Jr. David Wilke (17-9) Nazareth.

Notes: Sharga passes Greene due to the latter's losses at the Final Four, but Greene could bounce right back if he sees Sharga on Wednesday. Hull and Haddad both suffered losses to highly ranked New Jersey 189-pounders, James Fox of St. Peter's Prep (No. 1) and Jackson Memorial's Dallas Winston (No. 3), respectively. Nerger defeated Guevara for the second time in less than a week. Smith pinned Jennings in a dual.

Aaron BradleyAaron Bradley
285 Name Record School Class
1 Jack Delia 15-0 North Hunterdon Sr.
2 Aaron Bradley 13-1 Nazareth So.
3 Jalal Paige 25-4 Easton Sr.
4 Steve Giraldo 18-4 Hackettstown Sr.
5 Shaquane Williams 19-3 Pius X Jr.

Honorable mention: Sr. Steven Farr (17-5) Dieruff, Sr. Jordan Gonzalez (9-3) Allen, Sr. Shaun Heist (14-9) Parkland, Jr. Brandon Loch (8-5) Northern Lehigh, So. Chris Longyhore (10-7) North Warren, Jr. Kirby Mutton (17-7) Pen Argyl.

Notes: Pretty quiet week here. This top 5 may not change a whole lot, though heavyweights are always unpredictable. Giraldo enjoyed a 4-0 week.